I have a dream Analysis

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phrase "I have a dream" (11.3-17) which shows that it is important to him that his dream, which is about the black people getting the same rights as the white people, comes true. Because he often starts his sentence with "I have a dream"(11.3-17) his speech has a good structure and the listener knows that the next argument will follow. The speaker personifies the "nation" (1.3) to emphasize " that all men are created equal"(1.4). The contrast "they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character" (11.9-10) indicates that in the future it will no longer be sorted according to appearance, but judged according to character. With this contrast he wants to call the audience attention to the fact that racial segregation must stop. Then he use the metaphor "governor's lips are presently dripping with the words of interposition and nullification" (11.12-13) which points out that the governor of Alabama has a passive stance against racism. It also shows that he says a lot but he does not do anything against racism. The word "today" (1.11, 1.16) means that the situation must change now and not any time. His use of the Allusion "the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together" (1.19) is intended to stress the lasting relevance of his ideals of equality and freedom in times of racial inequality. Moreover the speaker use the anaphora "With this faith we will be able to " (1.20, 1.21,11.22-231 to emphasize his message of a racially equal society. This makes his speech more memorable for the audience. In the following he repeats the aspect of brotherhood between black and white people by using the parallelism" to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together" (11.23-24) which impresses the listeners. The word "together" (1.23) makes clear that the black people are not alone and that they get support from himself. He uses the anaphora "let freedom ring (11.31-35) to show the importance of change remains clear through his speech and to points out that he wants freedom and equality between black and white people. The speech ends with the repetition "[We are] free at last" (11.40-41) which keeps into listener mind and shows which aim he is pursuing. In the first part of the speech Martin Luther King uses a lot of negative word such as "difficulties" (1.1), "frustrations"(1.1) and heat of injustice and oppression" (1.8) to present the situation of black people. The second part is about his dreams for the future, in which black and white people experience equality. That is why he uses positive words such as "a table of brotherhood" (1.6) and "join hands" (1.14). All in all, the speaker uses this speech to convince the audience to keep working for his dream of equality and freedom for black people. To underline his intention he uses a lot of rhetorical devices such as metaphors, anaphoras and contrasts.